Chapter 412 Taner's marriage, the Duke of Thorns ascends the throne, and the Nicholas family changes (5000!!)

The Duke of Thorn was not surprised that Rand could easily deal with the danger to the palace.

It's a pity that the bodies of his cousins ​​could not remain in this world.

Cremation arrangements are now being made.

As for the undead inside and outside the city that have been revived by the power of the Death Knight, they are being commanded and dealt with by Taner.

There are many ox-horses and flying ox-horses in Rand's army. These twisted creations can suppress the undead, making them more easily killed.

For example, under the influence of twisted creations, ghosts will lose their immunity to physical damage and can no longer pass through walls.

Although Taner was injured, he had good command ability. He commanded the military and political center temporarily built in the square of Frost Moon Royal City, and the undead, who were already rootless, were beaten back step by step.

It is estimated that the undead inside and outside the Frost Moon Royal City will soon be dealt with by Taner.

The Dukes of Thorns saw all of this and couldn't help but feel a little envious.

Count Lander himself is quite capable, and he has so many talented people under him, and they all seem loyal.

So, Taner, as Rand's trusted confidant, seems to be unmarried.

Duke Thorn stroked his chin.

His legitimate daughter has not yet married.

This is of course a marriage of downgrade, but Grand Duke of Thorn is very optimistic about Taner.

He has always been foresighted. If he doesn't try now, he may not have the chance in the future.

Although Taner's current title is only the Baron conferred upon him by Rand.

But Rand himself is still only an earl. When Rand's title is promoted in the future, Taner, as Rand's confidant, will definitely be given the title.

Moreover, if we only consider status regardless of the title, Taner, as the confidant of the King's Hand Rand and the leading general, his status is definitely not low.

It's time to talk to Rand and give it a try.

It is not easy to always give orders to his aunt, Grand Duke Thorn, otherwise if he angers Grand Duke Thorn, he will be beaten.

But to be honest, Duke Thorn felt that he had trained his daughter quite well, and maybe they could marry Taner.

The Duke of Thorn must find a way to achieve a political marriage with Rand.

If Rand himself is not good enough, then as a second choice, Rand's generals are also acceptable.

Although Rand has agreed to help with government affairs now, the Duke of Thorn knows very well Rand's character and knows that he may disappear at any time.

This is actually nothing. Even if Rand runs back to Crescent Territory, he still has to deal with the work that he, as the new king, has to mail to him.

The Lord of Thorns was very confident that he could catch Rand.

The problem is politics.

Once Rand leaves the royal city and returns to the Earldom of the Moon Phase, it will be difficult for Grand Duke Thorn to govern the entire Frost Moon Kingdom alone.

Faced with the aristocratic forces in the country, the orc problem that has not yet been resolved, and the covetous eyes of the southern kingdom.

Also, what kind of disaster will the City of the Dead cause? These questions are quite troublesome.

There are some trivialities in governing a country.

For example, the conflicts among some nobles and the distribution of benefits after the war will also take a long time to debate.

All of this needs to be handled by the Duke of Thorns, and when sufficient voice is needed, Rand's political influence can be borrowed.

The Duke of Thorn must establish a strong alliance with Rand that is understandable to outsiders to prove that the two sides will not break up, at least in the short term.

…

Rand rested for three full days before he was basically "recovered" and able to reappear.

When we arrived at Grand Duke Thorn's office, he was still processing documents.

Seeing Rand coming, Lord Thorn waved his hand to disperse the others, leaving only Earl Stag and a few of his cronies.

The thirteenth son of the Black and Brown Marquisate is also here.

The dark green eyes of Lord Thorn were as deep as ever. He sighed and then said, "I will take the throne the day after tomorrow."

"I will handle the security issues and the maintenance of order." Rand took on some work directly. He felt at ease doing these things himself. The safety of the Duke of Thorn must not be affected.

Although Rand was very skeptical, the strength of the Duke of Thorn himself was also unfathomable.

It's just that the Duke of Thorn never encounters a situation where he has to use personal force.

The Duke of Thorn was very relieved to leave the security issues to Rand.

Grand Duke of Thorn nodded, and then continued: "After that, I will pass the title of Grand Duke of Thorn to my eldest son Adrian, and I, Marcus Frostmoon, will succeed to the throne of the Frostmoon Kingdom."

These were things that had been discussed before the war, and Rand and Earl Buck naturally had no objections.

"Then there is His Excellency Earl Buck." Grand Duke Thorn looked at Earl Buck, "The Buck family's territory will be exchanged. The Buck family's territory will be moved to an area near the royal city. That will be a real marquisate, and it is a fertile land."

"You can now be called the Marquis of the Stag," said the Duke of Thorn, "and you will also serve as the Minister of Foreign Affairs."

The Frost Moon Kingdom is basically governed by the great nobles, but there are also positions such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Finance. These positions are often in name only, but Grand Duke Thorn obviously wants to use them.

The Earl of Bucks is a man of many talents and is very good at negotiation. He has a good relationship with all the domestic nobles, except for a few exceptions.

The Earl of the Stag is also good at taking sides, hosting banquets, and running caravans.

The Duke of Thorn needs the wisdom of the Earl of Stag to reconcile relations between domestic nobles and handle diplomatic affairs.

"The position of Minister of Military Affairs will remain vacant." Grand Duke of Thorn looked at the thirteenth son of the Marquis of Black and Brown.

Then Grand Duke Thorn talked about some rewards for the Black and Brown Family.

Finally, there is Rand.

"Hand of the King, Rand," Lord Thorn announced.

Unfortunately, Rand, who had obtained such a powerful position, was not very happy.

"When I ascend to the throne, I will enthrone you as Grand Duke and grant you a vast territory," said Grand Duke Thorn.

Rand was a little stunned.

This was not something that had been discussed before.

There is no point in conferring the title of Grand Duke on Rand.

Rand's achievements are indeed so numerous that even bards could sing about them for days and nights.

It is indeed a merit worthy of being conferred the title of Duke.

But unfortunately.

Rand's accumulation is far from enough to support the title of Duke.

Even if Rand was granted such a large piece of land, he would not be able to govern it.

Ineffective land will only become a burden.

There is no bordering land around the Earldom of the Moon that can be crowned. The Earldom of the Moon is surrounded by the Kingdom of Lensa, the Kingdom of Bolan, the Earldom of the Stag and the Marquisate of Black and Brown.

Thinking of this, Rand understood.

Exchanging territory for Earl of the Stag also meant giving him land, but it was still far from enough.

"Grand Duke Rand of the Moon Phase," Marcus Frostmoon announced, "The original land of the Stag Family will become part of your direct territory, but more will depend on you taking from the Kingdom of Lunsa and the Kingdom of Bolun."

It's not that the Duke of Thorn can't grant Rand more territory.

But it was just as Rand thought. Rand had only been a noble for five years. Compared with the noble families that had been in business for decades or even hundreds of years, his accumulation was too little.

The number of talented people under Rand's command is not enough to support him in directly governing too many territories.

Moreover, if too many titles are conferred, it will cause criticism from domestic nobles and will be detrimental to the future stability of the country.

However, the title of Grand Duke can be given first, and then it depends on how far Rand can expand his territory.

Marcus believes that Rand's external expansion can bring prosperity to the Frost Moon Kingdom.

Although now, it will not be easy for Rand to take over the original territory of the Buck Family.

Even if the Marquis of the Stag would help him.

Although Rand was somewhat surprised at Marcus's canonization, he thought it was a good idea and it would be nice to get the title first.

"That's all?" Rand asked.

Marcus said, "One more thing."

Rand waited for Marcus to continue.

Marcus said he wanted his eldest daughter to marry Taner.

Rand was a little stunned again.

Rand didn't think that Taner was unworthy of Marcus's eldest daughter, it was just a little weird.

Marcus explained some of the reasons without any reservation.

Rand nodded and agreed, "You can try, but I don't want to force Taner to get married. I will try to bring them together. It'll be fine if it works."

Marcus thought Rand's idea was strange, but he didn't say much.

There are many strange things about Rand, and this is not the only one.

At this point, the distribution of "benefits" among the winners of the civil war ends.

The government affairs that Rand needs to deal with in the future will be discussed later.

The population mobility bill that Rand wants to implement will have to wait until the Frost Moon Kingdom becomes more stable.

Then, the day after this day, Marcus officially changed his surname to Shimokatsuki and sat on the throne of the Shimokatsuki Kingdom.

And Marcus' eldest son Adrian officially became the new Duke of Thorns.

Rand helped Marcus handle the government affairs of the Frost Moon Kingdom in the temporarily repaired side halls of the palace, which lasted until the end of winter that year.

The palace has been restored to a somewhat respectable state, and the distribution of interests and the wrangling have almost been settled.

The Frost Moon Kingdom has stabilized a little.

And Rand was also preparing to set off and return to the Dukedom of the Moon Phase.

The new king of the Frost Moon Kingdom, Marcus, came in person to see off the Hand of the King.

"Okay, I'm leaving. Don't bother me if you have small matters to deal with. If you have big matters, come to me earlier and don't delay." Rand said.

Marcus blew his beard and fought back against Rand's deliberately paternalistic tone.

Rand looked back at the way out.

After thinking for a while, he said, "The repair of the King's Road can be put on the agenda. The Duke of Moon Phase will provide bricks and road repair experts, but it's not free. Remember to allocate funds."

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

The new King of Frost Moon Kingdom, Marcus, waved his hand to indicate that he understood.

While on the bumpy horse, Rand also held a meeting with several high-level officials of the hideout, Taner and Karin.

Meeting on status and goals.

"After that, we need to take over the territory of the Marquis of the Bucks. However, the relocation of the Bucks family will probably not be completed in a short time, so there is no need to rush."

Olena wrote it down with a pen.

Olenna can easily write neat words on a bumpy horse. Her ability is extraordinary.

"We still have a lot of enemies to face now, including the Kingdom of Rensa, the Kingdom of Borun, the Nagas in the ocean, the murlocs, the mermaids, the orcs in the north, and the New Holy City in the south," Rand said.

"But there are many things we can do. We can open up the sea and trade with the White Country or other northern coastal countries. We can also try to establish diplomatic relations and trade with some southern countries that are far away from us."

There is still a lot of room for development in Rand's territory, whether it is military industry, education, or basic ways of making money and increasing population.

The Burning Land needs to be developed; at least it is certain that there is a lot of coal there.

"And our goal." Rand hesitated when he said this.

At the beginning, his goal was just to survive in this dangerous world.

But now, it seems that we still have to try hard to survive.

Rand didn't know in which year the Grand Duke Vladimir's sacrifice took place, nor did he know whether the major events in this world would change significantly because of his appearance.

But as long as the Grand Duke Vladimir's sacrifice event is launched, it means that many things will change.

Rand is no longer a small figure and will not die easily because of a small disaster, but there are still many things to come.

God's influence on this world.

The gaze of purgatory.

Some deep creatures of the Underdark.

The awakening of the ancient relic race.

However, these things are still quite far away from now, and Rand thinks it is better to deal with the enemies in front of him, the orcs and the undead first.

And then there is development. Only when you become strong enough, you will not be forced to do things against your will.

"Our current goal is to expand our sphere of influence," Rand said after some thought. "For example, we can 'support' some underdeveloped areas, spread the gospel, build roads, and open up routes."

…

The army of the City of the Dead has arrived at the border of the Kingdom of Borun.

In the desolate wilderness, the army of the undead slowly moved forward, like a winding black torrent. The moonlight was obscured by heavy dark clouds, leaving only a strange dark gray tone between heaven and earth, and the dead air was filled with the smell of decay.

In front of the army were skeleton knights holding high their battle flags. Their armor was mottled and damaged, and their flags were stained with dried dark red blood, which fluttered in the wind and made a slight rustling sound. Skeleton war horses stepped on the dry and cracked ground, making a dull sound of bones colliding.

Following closely behind were thousands of undead infantrymen, their bodies riddled with holes, some with missing limbs, some with crooked heads, but they still marched firmly with mechanical steps.

A faint green light occasionally flashed in the empty eye sockets, and with every step he took, the sound of dry bones colliding echoed in the silent wilderness.

The army also included undead mages in tattered robes, as well as some siege weapons with undead "characteristics".

The goal of the undead army is clear: to destroy the defenses of the living, build an obsidian tower here, and then use it as a base to capture other human countries.

at last.

Drag the whole world into endless darkness and cold.

Praise the great Scourge Apostle! Several Scourge Bishops have come to command the undead army in person.

This attack was a simultaneous attack on the Kingdom of Bolen and the Kingdom of Lensa.

But the main attack direction is the Kingdom of Borun, and the other route is only to confuse the enemy and disperse the enemy's forces.

The reason why we chose the Kingdom of Bolen as the main attack direction was not because of any other reason, but simply because it happened to be closer.

It is also relatively convenient to go to the Frost Moon Kingdom from here.

The overall national strength of the Kingdom of Borun is not as good as that of the Kingdom of Frost Moon, but it is not much different.

It’s just that half of this country’s strength is at sea, and its strength on land is average.

The Kingdom of Borun has already built a line of defense on the path that the undead must take.

This is a city wall made of solid stone, stretching for miles, like a blue dragon winding between the mountain ridges and the plains.

The structure of the defense line was inspired by the Rand Crescent Line.

The core of the defense line is several fortresses not too far apart. Their thick walls are made of rough granite. The arrow holes between the battlements on each stone are like deep eyes, coldly watching the movements in the wilderness in the distance.

There is also a towering watchtower on top of the fortress.

The brazier was lit with torches, and the red-orange flames swayed in the night breeze.

Outside the fortress were deep trenches and densely packed stakes.

A large number of human soldiers gathered here, but the defense line could only slightly soothe their nervous hearts.

These soldiers have long known how powerful the undead are.

It had not been long since the last time the undead wreaked havoc in the Southern Kingdom.

Night falls.

The wind howled, as if the ghosts of the dead in the wilderness were whispering.

Or, are there really undead whispering? Other human countries supported the Kingdom of Borun with some troops, and the New Holy City also sent a number of paladins and clergy to support it after the Kingdom of Borun paid a lot of money.

But this still cannot relieve the tension of human soldiers.

The night was already filled with the faint light of fire.

Everyone knew what the green flame meant.

…

It was very noisy in the palace of the Kingdom of Borun.

The ministers were arguing about how to deal with the dead.

Except for the beginning, the establishment of a defense line was unanimously agreed upon.

The others are still arguing.

The bearded king of the Kingdom of Bolen sat on the throne and looked at the Minister of Foreign Affairs beside him.

The King of Bolen asked, "Are there no more reinforcements?"

The Foreign Minister replied: "No, our allies are under threat from the Undead. According to them, we have done our utmost to support these troops."

The Southern Kingdom is divided into two alliances.

There are many countries in the Round Table Alliance where the Kingdom of Bolen is located, but everyone is in danger when facing the threat of the undead.

"Stupid!" The King of Bolun Kingdom yelled angrily, "If we are in trouble, they will be in more danger!"

Everyone understands this principle.

The lips and teeth are interdependent.

So everyone still supported the Kingdom of Bolen and the Kingdom of Lensa with some weapons, equipment, food, money and troops.

But the number is not large.

In fact, if you put yourself in their shoes, if other countries were facing the direct threat of the undead, the Kingdom of Bolen would do something similar.

It is really impossible to use all the troops in the reserve to provide support.

After all, if the troops that were deployed were all consumed by the countries they supported, what would happen after the war? What would happen if a crisis arose later? The Foreign Minister was silent.

The nobles in the field also stopped arguing for a short while.

These nobles were also worried that their most powerful troops would be consumed too much in the process of blocking the undead, leading to the weakening of the family.

↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓ Come and see the new books. Come and see the new books.

Book Title: My Wife is a Nuclear Girl

The Wasteland Returns has a male protagonist suffering from post-war stress, and a female protagonist who has been trained to be a human bomb since childhood adapting to modern society.

A lighthearted, funny, sweet story about the revival of superpowers and daily love.

(End of this chapter)